Electrical furnace.



PATENTED NOV. 6, 1906. F. J. TONE. ELECTRICAL FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1905. RENEWED APR. 6, 1906.

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INVENTOR wn-usssss PATENTED NOV. 6, 1905.

' PL-T. TONE. ELBGTBIGAL PURNAGB. APPLICATION 11. 1) sap-'1'. 14, '1905. RENEWED Lrnfe 1906.

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WITNESSES INVENTQR No; 834,948. P-ATENTED, NOV; 6, 1906.

. 11 J. TONE. v ELECTRICAL FURNACE. AIP-LIOMIQH FILED SEPT. 14, 1905. RENEWED APR. 6. 1906.

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WITNESSES. I INVENTOR FRANK TONE, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL FURNACE- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1906.

Application filed September 14, 1905. Renewed April 6, 1906. Serial No. 310.288.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. Toma, of Ki- 1 agara Falls, Niagara county, New York, have invented a new and useful Electrical Furnace,

of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 showsin plan view a furnace constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the'line III III of Fig. 1; and 4' and 51 are Iyiews similagltfp gigs. 2 and 3, res ective s O\ a mo e construction 0 f the fufnace. mg

The object of my invention is to increase the efiiciency-of electric furnaces and to obtain eater economyand larger output, especia y as to furnaces for smelting materials which remain unfused at the working temperature of the furnace. Furnaces of this class'are made with their greater dimensions in the direction of the path of the current, the electrodes being coupled at their outer ends to the metal conductor which supplies the electric current and at their inner ends to the conducting-core orcharge through which the current traverses the furnace.

I ,have discovered that the efficiency of such electric furnaces can be greatly increased by making the furnace-walls of removable and transferable sections and providing means for cooling the base portion of the furnace. Atthe hightemperature to which the furnace is exposed the masonry composing the base of the furnace becomes conductive, and a considerable portion of the current, being diverted through it from the central conducting-core, passes through the masonry and-is wasted; By keeping the bottom of the furnace cool this loss is prevented, and

the efficiency of the furnace is maintained throughout its operation.

By making the walls in sections having reinforcing bodies or frames of metal in which the walls are assembled and held the walls are rendered permanent in character and at the sarne time movable and transferable, so that a large wall-section can be removed as a single piece without disturbing the bricks of which it is composed. The reinforcingbodlesmay be frames. made as shown in the drawings. within which a brick lining isbuilt, or they may be constitutedby strong wire fabric or expanded metal embedded in a refractory facing of concrete. The sections at opposite sides preferably converge at the base, and the intervening body of masonry against which they are set is provided with the cooling devices. I

The medium which I employ forcooling the furnace-bottom is a current or currents of air or water passing through suitable spaces under the furnace and abstracting theheat thereof byconvec-tion, and it is important that the cooling medium be so ap lied as to prevent the formation of a hot p ace in the masonry, which would afford a ath for the electric current to the groun as above stated.

In Figs. 13 of the drawings, which repre-' sent an ordinary type of furnace, 2 2 are permanent end walls which support the electrodes 3 by which the current is conducted to theQCOnductiD -cOre which extends throu h the furnace charge 4. The sections of t e side walls are composed of bricks assembled in iron frames 5 and held therein by retaining-lips 6 atthe top and bottom. The framesections rest upon the floor, several of them being preferably placed end to end. They are shaped so as to converge downwardly, but their lower ends are separated somewhat by an intervening base 7 of bricks which supports the charge at the bottom. Instead of making this base solid I provide airspaces 8 .3, which extend through it from side to side and afford passages for the circulation. of cooling currents of air. These air-spaces by keeping down the temperature of the brickwork prevent the latter from conducting any substantial amount of electric current and cause the working current to traverse the furnace in the normal path provided by the core.

In Figs. I and 5 I show a modified construction, in which the furnace-bott0m is cooled by pipes S, which are built-in the brickwork and are designed to carry water.

Various other arrangements of the coolin spaces may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from my invention, but the forms which I have illustrated are simple and I consider them to be preferable.

By suitable modifications my invention may be applied to electric furnaces of any kind wherein the charge and core remain unfused at the working temperature. In such furnaces the resistance is considerably higher than when the charge becomes fused and conducts as an electrolyte, and owing to such higher resistance a greater proportion gf the current would be diverted through the ase.

Cooling means applied to the base as distinguished from the walls of the furnace-pera without departing form a double function, overcoming not only the loss of current by passage through the base and wallsbetween the terminals, but also the diverting of current from either terminal through the round. The stationary base may be carried across the furnace and the movable side walls may rest upon this base, and other variations may be made from my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim l.- An electric furnace having a side wall or walls of refractory material held together so as to be movable away from the charge, a

formed in laterally-movable sections vconverging toward the bottom and having a'stationary base of refractory material, .elec-l, trodes and interposed conducting material adapted to remain unfused at the working temperature of the furnace, said base being provided with a space for a cooling medium.

sufiicient to'prevent substantial diversion of the current through the base substantially as described.

electric furnace having side walls formed in laterally-movable sections conmedium sufiicient to prevent Witnesses:

tained in metal frames converging toward the bottom and having a stationary base of refractory material, electrodes and interposed conductingmaterial adapted to re main unfused at' the working temperature of the furnace, said base being provided with a space for a cooling medium sufiicient. to prevent substantial diversion of the current through the base; substantially asdescribed. 4. An electric furnace having side walls formed in laterally-movable sections, converging toward the bottomfandhavjing an intervening stationary base of'refraotory material, electrodes and interposed conducting material adapted to remain'unfusedmatthe working temperature of the furnace, said base being provided With-a space for a cooling-medium sufficient to prevent substantial substantially as described' 1 5. An electric furnace having side Walls formedin laterally-movable sectionscontained in 'metalframes converging toward the bottom and having an intervening stationary base of refractory material, electrodes and interposed conducting material adapted to remain unfused at-thew'orking diversion of the current through the base;

temperature of the furnace, said-base-being provided with a space for a cooling medium" as described.

In testimony whereof. I have hereunto set my hand.

' FRANK .J.'-'TONE.

FRED I. PIERCE, ARTHUR BATTS.

sufficient to prevent,substantial diversion of ,the'current throughthe base; substantially 

